Week 22 Streaming Guide

Congratulations to all those moving on and for those just starting their playoff run, welcome to the “set the alarm for 3 AM to make a pickup” portion of the fantasy calendar. We’re going to have to get creative this week. There are only 13 sets of back-to-back games in Week 21. To give you an idea of how low that is, there were 18 sets of back-to-back games last week. It’s going to harder than usual to get multiple games out of each of your moves. If possible, try to plan out your week tonight. You’ll be competing with your leaguemates for a smaller pool of streaming options and you don’t want to be stuck settling for player with a less than ideal schedule because you had to waste your time figuring out what categories you need.

The Clippers have this week’s best schedule with 5 games on the docket. Come on down Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers. Marreese Speights is a decent option for those in deeper leagues but in standard leagues, you can likely find a player who will give you more in 4 games. Don’t expect Chris Paul to play in all five games. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan will likely miss one game as well, but they’re not as likely as Paul to sit given that both rested in Week 21.

Thursday and Saturday are this week’s quiet nights while Friday and Sunday are both very busy. If you’re overloaded on Sunday, that makes streaming trickier. Not necessarily less effective, but it can be harder to maximize your games played when you can’t just wait until the end of the week to use your last couple of moves. Don’t be afraid to use all your moves earlier in the week if you feel it gives you the best chance to win.

Houston plays Monday and is off until Friday. If you are in bad shape, I’m not against dropping Eric Gordon, Lou Williams, Clint Capela, or even Trevor Ariza. Do what you have to do to move on. Oklahoma City also has a three day gap this week, with their second game coming on Wednesday and their third and final game being played on Sunday. Like Houston, no one outside of their big gun is a must-hold.

The Cavaliers don’t play until Wednesday and I’m not against dropping players like Tristan Thompson to pick up an extra two games. Again, it depends on what categories you need and how confident you are in your team. Kevin Love should be sat in weekly leagues as he’ll likely only play two games next week. Those who play in daily leagues have a very difficult decision to make. Only getting two games from one of your roster spots can be deadly in the playoffs, especially if Love’s minutes limit is not lifted immediately. The Cavaliers play four games in Week 23 with two of those games being part of a back-to-back set. If Love is still not playing both ends of back-to-back sets by then, that means you’ll only get five games out of a limited Love the rest of the way. He’s droppable.

Sacramento is in the same boat as the Cavaliers with no games until Wednesday. There is no one on that ugly, ugly roster that I consider a must-hold. Making matters worse, they play the Warriors, Clippers, and Bucks this week. The Kings also do not have any back-to-back sets in Week 22.

The following guide assumes that you play in a 12-team league. The categories that I list beside the players are the categories that the player has the potential to provide above-average production in. If better players are available than the ones I list below, don’t hesitate to grab them. If you play in a larger league and the below players aren’t available, feel free to shoot me a message on Twitter or through the contact form. Good luck.

Monday

Try to set up your Monday and Tuesday options on Sunday if possible. If you’re out of moves, look for teams that play four games starting Tuesday. The teams that play four games starting Tuesday are the Bucks, Blazers, Suns, Nets, Clippers, and Bulls.

Three teams will play three games from Thursday to Sunday. Those three teams are the Suns, Blazers, Nets, and Clippers. Blazers and Clippers are your best targets as they play on both Thursday and Saturday.

There are 20 teams playing on Friday so you’ll have some very good options to choose from late in the week. Your team will likely already be very busy on Sunday, so your aim will be to grab players who play on both Friday and Saturday.

Sunday has 20 teams taking the court as well and by then, you’ll have a very good idea of what you need. If you’re in a tight battle, don’t worry about players who play on the next Monday as well. Pick the guy who gives you the best chance of moving on and find a way to make up the lost game later.

Follow me on Twitter @EliteFanBBall for the latest fantasy basketball news. I will gladly answer any fantasy basketball related questions that you may have.